Union under fire over airport strikes

A UNION has been accused of ruining thousands of holidays after baggage handlers and other workers at some of Britain's biggest airports vowed to go on strike in a pay row. Swissport workers at Manchester, Stansted and Gatwick airports have voted to take industrial action in a vote backed by Unite.

A UNION has been accused of ruining thousands of holidays after baggage handlers and other workers at some of Britain's biggest airports vowed to go on strike in a pay row.

Swissport workers at Manchester, Stansted and Gatwick airports have voted to take industrial action in a vote backed by Unite.

Although the unions have held back from naming all strike dates, Swissport CEO Mark Faulkner criticised a 'cynical attempt to ruin the holiday plans of airport users'.

He added: "At this time of year more than 100,000 passengers travel through Gatwick each day, with a large proportion of them handled by Swissport. We have reminded our staff that many of these passengers are themselves union members.

"Swissport cannot respond to this type of militant behaviour and believe that the actions of the union are not in the interests of their members."

Unite said it was seeking an urgent meeting with Swissport management in an attempt to settle the dispute, while the GMB said it was holding further talks with its members.

Agreement

Unite has announced that its members employed by Swissport at Manchester Airport would stage a ban on overtime and a work to rule from Saturday, August 29 to Monday, August 31.

The union said its members at the airport who refuelled aircraft would stage a strike from 5am on August 31 to 12.45pm on September 1.

The unions had been expecting a 2.75 per cent wage rise to be paid in April under an agreement struck this time last year, which prevented a walkout last August, and have accused Swissport of reneging on the two-year pay deal.

Steve Turner, Unite's national officer, said: "Our members have demonstrated clearly that they are prepared to take part in industrial action and are willing to fight for fair pay.

"These workers deserve recognition for their hard work and their continued commitment, instead Swissport has turned its back on the workers and failed to honour its side of the agreement."

Swissport said it was incurring heavy losses due to a 19 per cent reduction in flight volumes this year, adding it had avoided large scale redundancies and site closures to date.